The Genius' Bodyguard
by simonjamesroger
Summary: Astrid Hofferson is starting a new job at Medtech Start-up Dragonwing. But what will happen when she and her belligerent boss fall in love while a shadow falls over the town of Berk? Modern AU, Rated T, Hiccstrid, Heathlegs. Cover Image to come. Will update rather slowly.
1. New Day

Chapter 1 – New Day

The sound of the alarm popped Astrid Hofferson's eyes wide open. It was the start of a new day. The first day, in fact, of a new job in a new town. She smiled to herself before hopping out of bed for her shower. The warm water felt good against her cold skin, and after a quick drying she wrapped her long blond hair in a towel, threw on some clothes, and wandered over towards the table. As she passed a cage, a yellow and blue Macaw peered between the bars at her. Astrid stopped and smiled. "Good morning, Stormfly."

The bird looked at her, and then squawked "Good morning" in response. Walking over to her kitchen counter after checking the bird's food and water, she picked a piece of banana bread out from a plastic container. She also grabbed a small oat muffin before settling at the table, looking out the window at the sights of the town of Berk. From the window of her small apartment, she could see the heads of the large stone Viking statues at the north side entrance to the town. After a quick breakfast, she unwrapped and braided her hair, pulled on her boots, and checked one more time for the directions to the med-tech startup Dragonwing, her destination for her new job. Hopping into her Elantra, she drove the short distance to the small building, "Don't Look Back" blasting from her car's stereo.

As she pulled into the parking lot, she spied a very tall, broad man standing by the front door. _That must be Gerard_ , she thought. She popped open her door, locked her car (can't be too careful) and walked up to the hulking form of the town's mayor. "Good morning, Mayor Haddock."

The gargantuan man let out a deep, throaty laugh. "Please, Astrid, just call me Stoick. Everybody else does."

She gave him a confused look. "I thought your name was Gerard."

Stoick laughed heartily. "It's an old nickname from my time as police chief, but that's a story for another time." He gestured towards the door. "Come on in. My son's business partners will give you a tour before you settle in."

Astrid gave him a nod and headed in the door. She gasped as she walked in, taken aback by the almost clinical foyer. The chrome reflected the sunlight streaming in through the windows. Standing at another door with a keycard lock was a trio of young adults about her age. One of them, a tall blond, greeted her with a smile.

"Hello! You must be Astrid. Stoick told us you were coming. I'm Martin Ingerman, but everybody calls me Fishlegs. These two are Theodore and Rebecca Thorston, better known around town as Tuffnut and Ruffnut. We want to welcome you to Dragonwing."

The two twins, a boy with long blond hair braided down at the sides and a girl with braids coming straight out, circled her with a mischievous glint in their eyes. "Well, dear sister, it appears Stoick's newest sacrifice is here."

"How long will it be before Hiccup runs her off, brother dear?"

The male twin pondered. "Ah, I give her two weeks or less."

"You're on!" The twins spit into their hands and shook.

Fishlegs groaned for a second. "Guys, let's not assume anything. Hiccup won't be THAT terrible to her, right?"

He looked at the ground contemplatively for a minute, but his head snapped up as the door opened again. Stoick nodded. "I'll go tell Hiccup she's here. Fishlegs, why don't you start the tour?" The tall boy swiped a card and held the door for the substantial mayor before beckoning for Astrid to follow him.

"So, this is the first of our two hallways. We have several labs for testing through these doors. We have to rigorously stress test the hardware and software of the prosthetics before they can be put to use, and that's where the twins come in. They do a fantastic job of testing rigorously, and are smarter than you'd think they would be. The door with the plaque on it is their office. Mine is the one further down across from the bathroom. I do all the software programming for our prosthetics. Now come this way, I'll show you the back hall."

Fishlegs guided Astrid towards the back, answering questions as they went. As they rounded the corner into the other hallway, Astrid saw Stoick's Massive frame squeeze through a door at the end of the hall that was promptly shut. "That office on the end is Hiccup's. He's our Hardware expert, and he works on them in a workshop you can get to from a door in his office. The door on the left wall is the supply closet. If you need anything, you can usually find it there. The first door on the right here is the break room. We have a fridge and a microwave in there, so if you want to bring leftovers from home you can. The other door is your office. The CCTV footage from the cameras out front and in the foyer go straight to a desktop computer in there, and the foyer's buzz in to get to the back is tied to the phone in there. You can also unlock the door to the back from your office using that computer. I'm sure Stoick's talked to Hiccup by now, so let's go talk to him. Unless you have a question?" Astrid was about to open her mouth when a shout ripped out from the door of Hiccup's office and reverberated down the hallway.

"You did WHAT!?"

"It's for your own good, son!"

"I told you, I don't need a glorified babysitter! You can send this 'new hire' of yours away!"

"She's already here, Hiccup! Don't fight with me about this! I want you safe!"

"That's it! Out! Right now!"

The door flew open and Stoick stormed out, still glowering, slamming the door behind him. Noticing Astrid and Fishlegs in the hall, his expression quickly turned to one of worry. "I'm sorry about that," he claimed as he approached, "But you'll have to forgive Hiccup, lass. He's stubborn like me, and thinks I'm being overprotective."

Astrid shrugged. "It's alright. I know a thing or two about stubborn. I'm sure once I'm around and he gets to know me, he'll warm up."

Stoick thought for a second, before nodding to her and Fishlegs with a curt "Good day" before leaving. "Well," Fishlegs offered, "At least you got an apology." Just then the low music that had been slowly drifting from Hiccup's office really picked up.

 _She had excuses and she just used them,_

 _She was the victim of unspeakable abuses._

 _Her husband was violent, malicious and distant,_

 _Her kids now belong to the State of Massachusetts._

Fishlegs winced. "The Dropkick Murphys again. I guess no one's talking to Hiccup anytime soon." He gestured to her. "Let's go see your office."

Fishlegs opened the door for her, and she walked into the room. It was small, with a little desk with a drawer and a desktop computer. Sitting on the desk were also a keycard and a physical key. "Those are for you, Astrid. The drawer contains a Taser and pepper spray. The key is a master key, and I'll tell you what you need that for at 5 when we need to close up for the day. Anything else you need before you get started?"

Astrid nodded. "Why am I all the way back here? If I'm security, wouldn't it make more sense to be at the front of the building where I can protect all of you?"

Fishlegs nodded. "If you were here to protect all of us, that would be true. But you're not here to protect all of us, just Hiccup. The keycard system should keep all of us safe anyways. If anybody does get in here, your job is to secure Hiccup and escape. That's why your office is so close to his." Fishlegs sighed. "Anyway, I have work to do, so I should get going. Hiccup should calm down in a couple hours, so check periodically to see if his music has calmed down. Once it has, it should be safe for you to go talk to him. Make sure to knock, though. Hiccup hates being interrupted. I'll see you at lunch!" With that, Fishlegs walked out the door and Astrid closed it with a click. And just like that, she was alone in her office.


	2. Big Boss Man

**AN- Thanks to everybody who left a review! I am kind of making this up on the fly, so I'm glad for the positive feedback so far. I will, eventually, do an fixed edit of chapter one, formatting-wise. Anyhow, I'll answer the only question thus far.**

 **BrawlerGamer- I will eventually reveal the story of the string of bodyguards, probably in about a chapter or two. It should be...revealing.**

 **On to the chapter!**

Chapter 2- Big Boss Man

Astrid poked her head out of her door and listened to the music floating from Hiccup's door.

 _I can see, there ain't no room for me,_

 _You're only holding back your heart in sympathy_

Taking this as the sign as an improved mood (Seriously, it was impossible to listen to the Four Seasons and stay in a bad mood), Astrid knocked on the door of Hiccup's office. The music shut off, and Hiccup's voice rang out.

"Come in!"

Astrid opened the door and stopped abruptly, just inside the room. Her new boss, around her age like everybody else in the company, had deep, forest-green eyes that seemed to hold her captive. An unkempt red mop of hair framed a face covered in freckles. Hiccup's expression had shifted from an even state to a scowl at her entrance, but she was too caught up in his shimmering eyes, not even registering that he had started talking to her. She snapped from her reverie when he waved his hand impatiently in front of her face.

"Oh! Sorry. My name is Astrid Hofferson, and I'm your new Security chief."

"I already knew that. I wanted to know why your currently in my office, interrupting my work." Hiccup's scowl seemed to have deepened. Astrid felt her face growing hot.

"I'm not trying to interrupt. Fishlegs said I should come introduce myself." With some effort, she managed to avert her gaze from his and tried to size up the rest of the young man. This turned out to be a mistake, as when her eyes fell upon his broad shoulders, an image of resting her head on them as she sat watching TV flashed into her mind. She noticed another impatient glare and gave him a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me today. Could you repeat that?"

Hiccup's chest, surprisingly broad for such a thin man, swelled as he sighed. Astrid had to blink to try and chase away fantasies of her hands splayed across that broad chest, skin to skin. These were not appropriate thoughts to be having about her boss, especially when her job was to protect him.

"I'm too busy for pleasantries. If you want to talk to somebody, go bother the twins. Good day, Miss Hofferson."

Astrid bowed her head before heading out of Hiccup's door and closing it behind her. After a quick glance to see if anyone was around to notice her slightly flushed face, she walked into her room, shut the door, and settled into her chair. Unbidden, the image of Hiccup's sinewy arms drawing her against his thin body populated her mind. She shook the daydream from her head and sighed. It was going to be a long day if this kept up.

It had, in fact, been a long day already. It was barely past noon and she needed to get Hiccup out of her mind stat. Jumping on to Facebook, she did manage to distract herself for all of ten minutes before a friend request from Fishlegs appeared. She gladly accepted it, but within minutes regretted her decision when the first picture on her news feed was of Fishlegs and Hiccup at some conference or other. They were both smiling, and Hiccup's smile, though slightly crooked and showing a small gap between his teeth, set her heart to beating and her mind racing with fantasy again. She quickly shut down the browser on the desktop and switched to checking baseball scores on her phone. She'd always dreamed of breaking the gender barrier in baseball before the harsh reality of High School. She'd been forced to switch to softball and had quickly given up sports, but even with that she still followed her beloved Twins. Suddenly, the phone on her desk started beeping. Looking up, she saw a young woman standing in front of the intercom by the entryway, holding two brown paper bags in her hand. Astrid picked up her phone.

"Who is this?"

"Hello! I'm Heather. I came by to have lunch with my fiancé while I'm on my lunch break."

Astrid felt her face heating up for the second time that day. Of course Hiccup was engaged. Why wouldn't he be? He was successful, as the head of Dragonwing, and handsome as well. Astrid started when she realized she'd zoned out again. She hit the button to the door, allowing Heather entry. "Come on in."

Immediately, she popped open her door to watch Hiccup's fiancé come down the hall, in order to get a really good look at her. However, when she rounded the corner, Heather was holding hands with Fishlegs, of all people. Astrid let out a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding. She felt a strange relief, and then realized with a start that she might just be pining over her boss now. Before this train of thought could go any further, however, Fishlegs spoke up.

"Hey, Astrid! I'm sorry that I forgot to mention that my fiancé was coming by for lunch. This is Heather Zerk. We're going to be married in a couple of months."

"It's nice to meet you, Heather."

Fishlegs had a grin a mile wide on his face. "We were hoping that you could join us for lunch. Ruff and Tuff are already getting ready to eat too."

Astrid thought for a second. It would be a good idea to get to know her co-workers. She was getting hungry, too, so she decided that it was time to eat. "Sure. Let me just go get something. Anything good to eat that's quick around here?" Heather was the one who answered her.

"If you go out and around the corner, my brother and I have a sandwich truck. It's the best lunch option in town. Tell my brother that I sent you, and he'll probably give you the Berserker for free."

Before Astrid could ask what that was, Fishlegs was already elucidating on the sandwich. "Heather and Dagur are the latest in a long tradition of sandwich makers from that truck. Everything they learned, they learned from their father before he left for Zimbabwe. He does humanitarian work down there. The Berserker is the Zerk family's signature sandwich. It's been a Berkian favorite for five generations."

Astrid nodded thankfully to the large blond. "That sounds like a fantastic idea. I'll go get that, and I'll meet you guys in the break room after I get it." With that, she grabbed her key card, walked with the two to the break room door, and continued out of the doors.


	3. Truck Drivin' Man

**AN- So, I have been updating this story pretty frequently. Don't expect my current torrid pace to keep up for more than one chapter, or two at the outside. I knew a lot of how I wanted to introduce the world and the characters, but I haven't planned out most of the meat and potatoes yet. Anyway, here's the new chapter. If you guys figure out my chapter naming convention, mention it in a review. I'll give a quick shout-out in the Author's note on the next one for anyone who gets it. Enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter 3- Truck Drivin' Man

The Berzerk Sandwich Truck was the most unique part of Berk's landscape, since it was the only thing in it that moved. Over the years, Dagur and Heather had found a routine. Every day, at 11, the truck stopped at the general store to leave sandwiches for Gobber and, later, Snotlout. They then had to book it to city hall to have Stoick's meatwich there by 11:30. Then, to the police station by noon to get two more sandwiches for Spitelout and Alvin. After Hiccup and Fishlegs got started, they stopped outside Dragonwing at 12:30 with lunch for the start-up. Heather would normally stay for lunch with her fiancé for a half hour, and then they would head to the doctor's office around two to deliver the last of lunch to Gothi and Mala. Now, with Astrid's arrival, they would have one more new regular sandwich to figure out.

As she walked up, Astrid spotted a young man, probably only slightly older than Hiccup and the others, with red hair combed up and a tattoo of three claw marks in blue over his eye. The nametag clipped to his shirt read "David," but Astrid assumed that this was probably Dagur. The young man cracked a huge grin. "Welcome to Berzerk! I'm Dagur. What can I make for you today?"

Astrid smiled at him. "Heather sent me. Said something about…"

Dagur cut her off with a brown bag right in front of her face. "I knew she was going to talk to you. Here you go! One fresh berserker, just for you!"

Astrid was slightly thrown off-balance by the sudden appearance of the bag, but got ahold of it nonetheless. "Do you guys always have the sandwiches ready before the person orders?"

Dagur nodded. "Actually, yes. Almost everybody in town has a favorite, and whether for lunch or dinner we always have it ready before they even reach the truck. I've memorized who has what sandwich, and hopefully we can do the same thing for you. Heather makes a lot of the sandwiches, since I do most of the driving, but hey, someone has to cover if the other is sick. Anyway, let her know what you think as you try the sandwiches, and we'll figure out the one for you."

Astrid thanked the young man for the food before turning around and heading back inside. The good-natured driver bid her a farewell before starting on a new sandwich. She quickly got through the door with her key card and headed for the break room, where the others (minus Hiccup) were already sitting around the table, eating. Heather gave her a smile and beckoned to the chair next to her. "So, what did you think of my brother?"

Astrid took a seat, noticing that Fishlegs and the twins seemed to be talking shop. "He seems really nice. It was good to meet him."

Heather smiled. "Hey, so he's actually in a Dungeons and Dragons group with Hiccup, the twins, and Fishlegs. They're meeting tonight, so I was wondering if you wanted to meet up at my house and have dinner? I've been looking for someone to spend time with on Mondays."

Astrid thought for a second, but decided that having friends seemed like a good idea. "Sure. I'd be glad to meet you. Need me to bring anything?"

Heather shook her head. "Just your curious brain. I'm sure you have a lot of questions about the town, and I'd be happy to answer them."

Astrid nodded her thanks and unwrapped her sandwich. She bit into it and her tongue lit up with flavor. The banana peppers gave a little kick while the fresh lettuce and tomato felt cool. The meats were tender, thin, and yet still packed with flavor. And the toasted bread, which was light as air and yet still crunchy, was simply divine. "This is amazing! I can see why it's the signature sandwich."

Heather smiled. "I made it myself, especially for you."

Astrid thought for a second. "Hey, is this produce fresh? It doesn't make since, Lettuce isn't in season around here."

Heather just laughed. "It is fresh, actually. Everything we use is. Mildew, the local farmer, is rumored to be some kind of plant whisperer. He somehow can come up with fresh lettuce and tomato for us in the middle of winter when the ground's frozen. We don't know how, but it's the most amazing thing produce we ever tasted. Only reason we like having him around, to be honest. But I can tell you more about Mildew tonight. What's you're story?"

Astrid laughed. "Well, there really isn't much to tell. I was looking for a job, and this one seemed to pay well without being too strenuous for a start to my career. I mean, Burk has the lowest crime rate in the country, how hard could protecting a company here be?"

The low-level cacophony seemed to silence immediately. Fishlegs looked over at her and gulped. "Never underestimate how dangerous things can be at Dragonwing." After that, he promptly stopped talking and the rest of the meal passed in a slightly awkward silence.

After returning from lunch, Astrid decided to leave her window open. It had gotten rather warm before the break, and she decided that airflow would be nice. As she cracked it open, she could hear music drifting from Hiccup's also open window.

 _Now when I was just a little boy,_

 _Standin' to my Daddy's knee,_

 _My poppa said "Son, don't you let the man get you_

 _Do what he done to me"_

 _Cause he'll get you_

 _Cause he'll get you now, now_

Suddenly, the music cut off, and she could here talking. She hadn't even realized she had still been standing in the window, but from here she could here the conversation.

"She's not necessary, Fishlegs. Dad's just being overprotective."

"Hiccup, she's really nice. Heather and Dagur like her, at the very least, and you know they're good judges of character. Just give her a chance, she might surprise you."

She could feel Hiccup's sigh, even though she couldn't see it or hear it. "She's a distraction, Fishlegs. We do important work here. We don't need another person hanging around and getting in the way."

"Why do you think she'll be in the way? Her only job is to stay in her office and keep a look out."

"I can't get her out of my head, Fishlegs. She distracts me, and you remember what happened last time I was distracted by a pretty girl."

"You can't expect every pretty girl who comes to town to be like Cami, Hiccup!"

A brief pause hung in the air after Fishlegs' shout. When Hiccup spoke next, his voice was dangerously low. "I suggest you get back to work, Fishlegs."

The sound of the door shutting behind him clicked out from the window, and Astrid released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Not long after, a new song started playing from the office next door.

 _Fools in Love_

 _Are there any other kind of lovers?_

 _Fools in Love_

 _Is there any other kind of Pain?_

The pumping bass of Joe Jackson's band and the bitter song told Astrid everything she needed to know about Hiccup's mood, and she soon shut the window to avoid the sound of the most cynical album she knew.

The rest of the day passed without incident, and soon enough it was 5:00. The end of her first day. A knock sounded out. "Hey Astrid? I'm here to show you how to close up for the day!"

She grabbed her card key and the master key and opened the door to meet him. "Alright, what will I need to do?" Over the next several minutes, Fishlegs showed her which doors she needed to lock at the end of the day.

"Before you lock Hiccup's room, make sure he's actually left for the day. Usually, if there's no music, he's packed up and gone home, but check anyway. He's been known to work until early in the morning if he's made some major breakthrough." He showed her out side, and with the front door locked, they were standing outside the building. "Hey, thanks for being there for Heather tonight. I knew she got lonely, and as sweet as they are Windshear and Shattermaster aren't the same as human company."

"Windshear and Shattermaster?"

"Yeah, Heather and Dagur's dogs. Ignore the names, they are the sweetest dogs you will ever meet after my Meatlug."

Astrid nodded. "I have a bird named Stormfly, and even though she's amazing, I want to have more friends than just that. I think Heather and I will get along great, so I was happy to spend time with her tonight. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow!"

After Fishlegs gave her the same wishes, they went to their respective cars. After barely containing her amusement at seeing the portly blond shove himself into a Prius, she got into her car and started off for her apartment. As "Up Around the Bend" started playing, she reflected a bit on what Hiccup and Fishlegs had said in their argument. Who was Cami, and what had she done? After deciding that would be the first question for Heather that night, she started singing along raucously as she drove home.


	4. Heartbreak

**AN- So, this chapter spends most of its time as an angst fest, so warning you now. You will, however, get some answers. On to questions!**

 **BrawlerGamer (From Chapter 2)- Astrid, like Hiccup, has had no action in years, and while they will both get some eventually, it will be off-screen so to speak.**

 **Nobody figured out my title convention, so I'm going to give a shout-out to the first person to get it whenever it happens.**

 **On to the chapter!**

Chapter 4- Heartbreak

Astrid took a deep breath before knocking on the door. After only a few moments, it opened to reveal Heather's smiling face. "Come in! Dinner's almost ready."

Astrid gave her a smile. "Thanks for having me. I would have been doomed to another night with a TV dinner."

As they sat down at a small dining table, Heather looked thoughtful. "Maybe week could meet once a week, and I can teach you how to cook."

"That would be great, thanks." Heather wrapped up the final steps of her cooking and got the food to the table. Much like the lunch she'd had earlier, it was delicious and prepared perfectly.

After a delicious meal in companionable silence, Heather motioned Astrid towards the door to the side of the dining room. It led to a sitting room of some sorts, with only a couch, a chair, and a TV. Astrid plopped down on the couch, and Heather dropped down next to her. "Astrid, I know you probably have a ton of questions, so ask me anything you want to know."

Astrid asked her first question without even needing to think. "What's the deal with Stoick hiring me to basically be a bodyguard?"

Heather's expression quickly grew grave. "Once, because of a really bad person, Hiccup was badly hurt and almost kidnapped. Thing is, he's been over the physical injuries for a long time; it's the emotional damage that's the problem. It's still pretty tender, even though everything went down a couple of years ago."

Astrid spoke up before her brain could stop herself. "Did it have to do with Cami?"

Heather's face reddened with anger. "How do you know that name?"

Astrid quickly raised her hands to placate the dark-haired woman. "I overheard Hiccup and Fishlegs arguing today, and that name came up." Heather's face slowly drained of the red, but her expression remained wary. "Who was she, Heather?"

Heather went quiet, seeming deep in thought. "Let me check with Fishlegs to see if it's a good idea to tell you the story." After that, Heather was silent while she banged out a text message. Some time later, her phone buzzed and she read the text quickly. "Fishlegs thinks that, for you to do your job effectively, you need to know everything. I'll tell you, but it's not a pretty story."

"This story starts, in a lot of ways, back when all of us were in elementary school. In first grade, Hiccup was small, scrawny, and brainy. Because of that, he got along great with me, Fishlegs, and a young girl in our class named Camille. On the other hand, his stronger cousin Snotlout and the twins picked on him relentlessly. Camille was small, even smaller than Hiccup, but she protected them from Snotlout's torment vehemently, earning her the nickname 'Camikazi' from Tuffnut. We all got along pretty well, but about two-thirds of the way through the year Cami's dad got a new job and she had to move away. We didn't see her for almost ten years."

"About three years ago, just as Hiccup and Fishlegs were starting up Dragonwing with the twins, Cami came back to town. She was a stunner, about your height with gorgeous blond hair and these stunning brown eyes. Hiccup was smitten with her almost immediately, and we thought she was interested in him too, because they were dating within a couple of months. It was almost like they'd never been apart. Only a couple of months after that, Hiccup was giving her a spare key to his apartment so she could come over whenever she wanted to. That's when everything went wrong."

"Just the very next night, some big, burly men broke into Hiccup's apartment and tried to kidnap him. Fortunately for Hiccup, he has a pet cat named Toothless who is fiercely loyal and protective. Somehow, that cat was able to harass them enough for Hiccup to break loose, and the two of them managed to knock the would-be kidnappers out. After that, when his uncle Spitelout came to take them into custody, Hiccup found the spare key he had given to Cami on them, and he was beside himself with worry."

"Stoick sent word to all the law enforcement in the state, since all of them till owed him a favor for the Bludvist arrest. Cami was found in St. Paul, alive and well. Turns out, she'd been hired by a man named Viggo Grimborn, the CEO of a big-time biotech company, to get Hiccup's designs for prosthetic limbs. When she couldn't get them from him by going through the papers in his office, Viggo ordered her to set up the kidnapping. When Hiccup found out that it had all been fake just so Viggo could get those designs, something broke inside of him."

"The friendly, borderline naïve, innocent Hiccup we all knew vanished almost overnight, replaced with the man you met today. Even those of us closest to him aren't allowed close anymore, except for Snotlout, who's family. His dad only made him worse when the first 'Security Chief' of Dragonwing showed up about a month later. The position always reminds Hiccup of Cami, and he gets so much worse every time we get a new one. He goes through almost ten security chiefs a year."

"That's why you have a job here. We're all hoping that, with how similar and yet how different you are from her, that you can help Hiccup to move on. But for that to happen, you have to stick around. Hiccup will do everything he can to make you quit, so please, whatever happens, stick around."

Astrid was still reeling from Heather's story. So much pain, and so much evil involved. After spending almost fifteen minutes processing it, she still wasn't quite sure how to respond. "That's horrible. What kind of person would do that?"

Heather sighed. "Someone desperate. Viggo's company was failing, and he needed something new and cutting-edge to keep it afloat. Hiccup's capabilities were already pretty famous by the time Dragonwing was starting up, so the start-up was high profile enough for Viggo to pick up on it. He and Cami are both in jail now, and his company had fallen into ruin."

Astrid was sure of what she thought, but Heather didn't seem to be doing as well after having told the story. Deciding to try a less depressing topic, she made a request. "Tell me about the old Hiccup, before all of that happened."

A glowing smile spread over Heather's lips. "He was just about the sweetest guy you would have ever met. Ruffnut actually crushed on him in High School. He saw the best in everybody, and he even mended the relationships he had with his dad and Snotlout and got Mildew and Alvin involved in the community. He and Fishlegs could spend hours talking science, history, engineering, philosophy, anything really." Her expression was starting to drop again. "His sarcasm was always used for humor, never to hurt people like it is now. Now, though, he's borderline mean to everyone, even Fishlegs." Heather tried to wipe away the tears that were trying to fall from her eyes. "You would have loved him. Everyone did. And we all miss him so much."

At that point, Heather broke down, her head falling onto Astrid's shoulder as her body was wracked with sobs. It was almost like she was mourning the death of a friend, and Astrid realized that that was exactly what she was doing. A fresh wave of anger washed over her at Viggo and Cami, for not only hurting the man who she worked for, but for reducing this strong woman she was now friends with to tears.

After Heather calmed down, Astrid steered the conversation away from Hiccup (As much as she still wanted to ask more) and onto other topics. The girls soon were happily chatting about baseball and hockey, until several hours later when Astrid was getting ready to go. Fishlegs and Dagur arrived, carting a tub of ice cream, and the blond spoke up. "Hey, Astrid! Want to join us for ice cream?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, but I need to take care of Stormfly, my pet bird. Maybe next time I come over, I'll bring her and we can have ice cream without me having to run home."

Fishlegs beamed at her. "That sounds great! Well, I'll see you tomorrow." After giving on last goodbye to Heather and Dagur, Astrid headed home.


	5. It Hit Me Like a Hammer

**AN- Here's the next chapter, in which we meet another major character, Hiccup and Astrid have there first real interaction, and much fun is had. Again, shout-out for the first reviewer to figure out where the names of my chapters comes from. I hope everybody enjoys!**

Chapter 5- It Hit Me Like a Hammer

Several days had passed since Astrid's dinner with Heather, and she was starting to develop a pattern. Get up, get to work, spend the morning in the testing chamber "guarding" Fishlegs and the Twins (she spent more time proposing simple solutions to problems with the software), eat lunch with her new friends, then spend the afternoon watching the cameras while trying not to daydream about her boss. He left his door open after lunch, and she saw him hunched over his desk with a determined look on his face often. It sent new fantasies dancing in her head and she had to force her mind back on task. Today, Thursday, she had just snapped herself out of another reverie when she saw a young man reaching for the intercom by the door. He was clearly shorter than heather, and his muscles bulged in a way she found decidedly vain. She grabbed the receiver just as he hit the button. "Can I help you?"

"Oh! You must be the new girl. Fishlegs was telling me about you. I'm Scott, but everyone calls me Snotlout. I'm Hiccup's cousin, and I came to watch him do his hardware test today."

Astrid flinched. "He's running a test this afternoon?"

"Yeah! You're supposed to be there, but I don't think he told you about it. Let me in, I'll meet you at the lab with my antisocial cousin in tow."

After letting him in, Astrid was waiting when Hiccup arrived at the lab with Snotlout. Hiccup immediately scowled, and pointedly ignored her as he set to work. After Hiccup did some tweaks on the side of the table opposite them, he moved around to the side Astrid and Snotlout were standing on. She could practically feel her eyes as they drifted down, and she struggled to snap them up before she started thinking about something she really shouldn't. Snotlout, unfortunately, seemed to notice. "Wow. Fish was right, you have it bad." He only whispered it, but it still made her jump. She looked over, and noticed a dark expression on his face. "With that said, if you do anything to hurt him, I will personally hunt you down, and it will be very painful."

After some more time, Hiccup growled in frustration. Astrid took a look and noticed that he was working on some sort of hydraulics system to make the five fingers on the prosthetic arm Fishlegs and the Twins had been working on software for move independently. Astrid spoke up when she noticed something. "Hey, are you trying to wire all five fingers to the same block and have them move separately?"

Hiccup glared at her. "Obviously. Why do you care?"

Astrid sighed. "I work at this company, and if it's doing well, I do well. Anyway, why don't you make each finger its own independent system and have them link to the CPU on separate wires?"

Hiccup looked startled. "Actually, that's not a terrible idea." His expression, now lightened, remained cautious and distrustful throughout the testing period, but he seemed genuinely impressed with her sensible solutions to complex problems. It didn't always apply, but she was eager to learn about anything to do with him, so she listened when he explained these things with rapt attention. When they parted, while Hiccup clearly no longer hated her, and even seemed to respect her somewhat, he was a long way from liking her. Still, she mused, it was progress, and that was better than nothing.

As the door to Hiccup's office closed, Snotlout turned to her. "Well, I am officially impressed. Not many people earn Hiccup's respect that easily. The only ones that really come to mind for me are Fishlegs, Dagur, and Heather. Anyway, there's a karaoke night tomorrow night, and everyone in town's going to be there. Mainly because there isn't anything else to do. You should come. I'm sure Atali would be thrilled to meet you after I tell her about this afternoon in the lab."

"Atali? Who's that?"

Snotlout grinned. "My girlfriend. We met when I was at Minnesota on my football scholarship. She picked up tutoring me where Hiccup left off when he went to MIT, and I wouldn't have gotten my degree without her. Anyway, that's a story for another time. See you tomorrow night!" By the time Astrid realized she didn't know which bar to go to, Snotlout had already left.

The next day at lunch, Astrid's friends looked up as she walked in. Fishlegs spoke up first. "Hey, Astrid. Snotlout told Heather about yesterday afternoon while she was dropping off his sandwich. Did Hiccup actually ask you for help?"

Astrid smiled. "He did. Hiccup's the sort of guy who tends to over-think a complex problem and look for a complex answer. Sometimes, they need someone to show them the square peg before they get out a saw."

Fishlegs laughed. "Well, I guess that applies to all of us. Still, how did you figure that out about him so fast?"

Astrid couldn't help the blush spreading across her cheeks. "Well, almost everything about him is my type. I've seen it before, is all." She saw no point in denying, since at this point everyone in town probably knew how she felt, with the possible exception of Hiccup himself. "Anyway, Snotlout was mentioning Karaoke yesterday. Where is that? He never told me."

"It's at Wing. It's the bar about two blocks down from here. Mala, Dagur's wife, owns the place and runs the kitchen. Throk, her half-brother, runs the bar. I think you'll like them, but be warned about Throk. He's a little…odd."

"Odd how?"

Fishlegs winced. "Well, he named his pet iguana The Great Protector."

Astrid laughed. That was an absurd name for any animal, let alone an iguana. "Anything else I should know."

This time it was Ruffnut who piped up. "Yeah, you'll get a free song because it will be your first time!"

After that, the friends got to chatting amicably before parting ways with the promise of meeting that night at the bar. As she wandered back towards her office, Astrid saw something she never expected to see: Hiccup Haddock was walking towards her. Specifically her. "Hey, Astrid, could you help me with something? I need some of your simple solutions again."

Astrid nodded, trying to keep her heart from doing backflips. He was talking to her. On purpose! She followed him into his office, but made sure to leave the door open. She didn't trust herself with it closed, at least not yet. "What do you need, boss?"

Hiccup gestured towards the arm. "So, the idea of wiring each finger separately worked like a charm, but now we need to find a place to put the CPU. So, where in the arm should I put it?" He looked at her expectantly.

Astrid had to take a second to center herself with his gaze seeming to pierce into her soul. "Well, if you put the CPU in the center of the arm, maybe by the elbow, it will make the signals not have to travel as far. That's where you should put it."

Hiccup laughed. "I knew you were smarter than the average muscle-bound idiot my dad takes on. You're absolutely correct. I'd come to that conclusion myself, but I'm impressed, Astrid. Maybe it won't be so bad having you around if you can help us like this." He gave her a lopsided grin and, for the first time since she had met him on Monday, looked her straight in the eye with something resembling warmth. "Thank you. If I ever find myself up against the wall and need a simple out, I'll come ask you."

Astrid managed to fumble out a "You're welcome" and maintain some semblance of composure as she exited his office. She closed the door behind her, though, and practically fled to her office once she was sure she'd be unnoticed. As she shut the door behind her, she felt her knees wobbling and her face burning up. She sank to the floor and took several deep breaths, doing her best to banish the fantasies of kissing Hiccup, her boss, square on the lips. "Damn it. This won't end well."


	6. Rock and Roll All Night

Chapter 6- Rock and Roll All Night

Wing was a bustling place on Friday nights, and Astrid found this out when she tried to find parking. She ended up heading in at the same time as Heather and Dagur. Her friend and the enthusiastic driver greeted her with hugs. Dagur smiled at her. "So, you heard about karaoke night. Glad to have you here, Astrid. I'm sure my wife is going to love you."

Astrid nodded to him. "I just hope I live up to the hype." They entered the bar, which was, as she suspected from Snotlout's description, packed. A young man with his red hair cut in the military style was serving drinks behind the bar while a blond woman walked up to the microphone after getting a nod from Dagur. Her friends were there, and they motioned her up towards the stage. As she walked, she spotted Hiccup in the corner of the room, sitting with Snotlout and a young brunette woman. Presumably, that was Atali.

The blond woman spoke up, her accent clearly British in origin. "Hello, everyone. It's time to start our karaoke night. My husband, Dagur, will be playing DJ as usual, and we're starting tonight with the free song for our newcomer. Let's all give a warm Berkian welcome to Astrid Hofferson." The room filled with cheers, the loudest coming from her friends, as she headed up. Mala smiled at her. "So, do you know which song you're going to sing?" Astrid gave her a small slip of paper. Mala read it over, nodded, and passed it to Dagur before moving to the kitchen. Astrid walked up to the microphone and looked at the nearby screen. She took a deep breath to try and steel herself before she started.

The piano intro started, and the room fell silent for her. Her voice shook a little as she started to sing.

 _I hear the ticking of the clock,_

 _I'm lying here the room's pitch dark._

 _I wonder where you are tonight,_

 _No answer on the telephone._

The silence was more comfortable now, and Astrid felt the strength in her voice grow as she continued.

 _And the night goes by so very slow,_

 _Oh I hope that it won't end though,_

 _Alone._

As the music swelled, Astrid finally hit her stride, her nerves forgotten, as she poured all of her feelings and all of her heart into the moment.

 _'Till now, I always got by on my own_

 _I never really cared until I met you._

 _And now it chills me to the bone,_

 _How do I get you alone?_

 _How do I get you alone?_

Everybody else in the room had to stifle their cheers, because they didn't want to ruin the moment. Astrid didn't even remember anyone was there at that point, and continued on without pause.

 _You don't know how long I've wanted_

 _To touch your lips and hold you tight._

 _Oh, you don't know how long I waited,_

 _And I was going to tell you tonight._

 _But the secret is still my own,_

 _And my love for you is still unknown,_

 _Alone._

Astrid's eyes were closed, and she let herself get carried away with the guitar solo. Images of Hiccup smiling at her like he had that afternoon, pictures in her mind she'd had of him since she had started on Monday, were all there. She started back with just that in her head.

 _'Till now, I always got by on my own._

 _I never really cared until I met you._

 _And now it chills me to the bone,_

 _How do I get you alone?_

 _How do I get you alone?_

The song died down, and Astrid opened her eyes. The room was quiet for just another moment, and then cheers began to break out. Astrid smiled and gave a curtsey before leaving the stage and darting over to her friends. Fishlegs and Tuffnut were still clapping when she got to them. Ruffnut, meanwhile, spoke up. "Hey, we didn't know you sang that well!"

The friends got to talking as several of the town's residents got up on stage and started performing. The bar was packed to the gills, but everybody kept their conversations quiet enough to hear the singing. The songs were rolling, and everyone was having a good time, when Fishlegs excused himself and took a slip of paper over to Dagur. He then took the stage and performed a song of his own.

 _Come all ye friends I'll sit you down,_

 _And sing a doleful ditty,_

 _T'was on a day in April month_

 _We started from the city._

 _We planned a day or two at Mahers_

 _We stalwart men were chosen,_

 _To remove ol' Charlie from Angle Pond,_

 _Who fell in when the pond was frozen._

 _We seven men came roaring down_

 _From the road to Roaches Line,_

 _We might have stopped in Avondale_

 _Or Brigus might have been fine._

 _We was hungry as sin but we never stopped in_

 _Nor took any time to park us,_

 _We all of us knew that we must get through_

 _To remove old Charlie's carcass._

 _Here's To Charlie Horse,_

 _Here's to Shave the Master_

 _No better horse ne'er ran the course_

 _Or pulled the logs more faster_

 _Here's to Charlie Horse and I wants ye all to know_

 _Charlie's gone to the big Corral where all good horses go._

After the song had picked up at the end of the intro, people took to the floor to dance, and the room started to fill with clapping and laughter.

 _In the car was Ol' Pocket Crumb_

 _And beside him Old Moose Coosten,_

 _And Barracuda Bill and Jimmy Clark,_

 _In the back seat he was roostin'_

 _There was Smiley Stubborn and the Mounted Police_

 _It wasn't hard to find him,_

 _And Johnny Pollack and Sagebrush Sam_

 _Was sitting right in beside him._

 _Kevin and Buck was also there,_

 _But they brought some brawn and brains,_

 _They was aiming to help as best they could_

 _To remove old Chuck's remains,_

 _Charlie was like a brother to Shave_

 _And he loved him well of course,_

 _Charlie was a very good man you see_

 _Although he'd been a horse._

 _Here's to Charlie Horse,_

 _Here's to Shave the Master._

 _No better horse ne'er ran the course,_

 _Or pulled the logs more faster._

 _Here's to Charlie Horse and I want ye all to know,_

 _Charlie's gone to the big corral where all good horses go, Ho!_

As an instrumental break kicked in, Fishlegs started dancing on stage, a wild dance of kicks and whoops. Astrid scanned the room from her spot on the dance floor, and spotted Hiccup at a table with his cousin and a young, brunette lady. Hiccup was clapping and laughing just like everybody else in the room. The joy on his face stunned her. Soon, however, Fishlegs was settling back in.

 _Now I'll spare you all the gruesome details_

 _And just relate the end._

 _With two stout dories and a few strong ropes_

 _We removed old Shavey's friend_

 _We gave him a decent send off,_

 _With all our hats removed._

 _So long as we helped old Shave and his friend,_

 _Our loyalty was proved._

 _Somewhere up in the great beyond his eyes are shining bright,_

 _Charlie nods an approving nod cause he knows we did him right._

 _Shave will join him there one day_

 _And he'll bring the harness leather._

 _And so for all eternity they'll pull the logs together._

 _Here's to Charlie Horse,_

 _Here's to Shave the Master._

 _No better horse ne'er ran the course,_

 _Or pulled the logs more faster._

 _Here's to Charlie Horse and I want ye all to know,_

 _Charlie's gone to the big corral where all good horses go._

 _Oh, here's to Charlie Horse,_

 _Here's to Shave the Master._

 _No better horse ne'er ran the course,_

 _Or pulled the logs more faster._

 _Here's to Charlie Horse and I want ye all to know,_

 _Charlie's gone to the big corral,_

 _Where all good horses go._

Astrid was gaping at Fishlegs as he walked back over. "I've never heard anything like that before." She was shouting to be heard over the raucous cheers.

"It's a song Hiccup plays sometimes. Working for him, you pick up a lot of music."

Astrid scanned the room for Hiccup again, and found him speaking to Snotlout and the young girl. Snotlout laughed at something, when suddenly the door of the bar burst open. Every head turned as a tall, dark-haired man and a smaller redhead walked in. She heard Ruffnut's squeal in her ear. "Eret!" The man quickly found the source of the voice, and a smile spread across his face. Meanwhile, the redhead was cutting through the crowd, seemingly headed for Tuffnut.

Tuffnut slapped Astrid on the back, and she realized the twins were standing on either side of her. "Astrid, meet the Ericson siblings. Eret is Ruff's boyfriend, and the little one is my girlfriend Chicken."

Astrid gawked at him. "Chicken? What kind of name is Chicken?"

Ruff spoke up. "Her name is Chelsea. Tuff's just weird."

Heather looked at her watch. "And now that they're here, I think it's my turn. Don't want to wait too long before I get up there, or people will start calling for it." Heather made her way over to her brother, and the room fell dead silent. Even the just-arrived Ericsons said nothing. Heather took the mike as her brother set up her song.

 _Day after day, I must face a world of strangers, where I don't belong._

 _I'm not that strong_

 _It's nice to know that there's someone I can turn to who will always care,_

 _You're always there_

 _When there's no getting over that rainbow,_

 _When my smallest of dreams won't come true,_

 _I can take all the madness the world has to give,_

 _But I won't last a day without you._

 _So many times, when the city seems to be without a friendly face,_

 _A lonely place,_

 _It's nice to know that you'll be there if I need you, and you'll always smile,_

 _It's all worthwhile,_

 _When there's no getting over that rainbow,_

 _When my smallest of dreams won't come true,_

 _I can take all the madness the world has to give,_

 _But I won't last a day without you._

 _Touch me, and I end up singing,_

 _Trouble seems to up and disappear,_

 _You touch me with the love you're bringing,_

 _I can't really lose when you're near._

 _If all my friends have forgotten half their promises, they're not unkind,_

 _Just hard to find._

 _One look at you, and I know that I could learn to live without the rest,_

 _I've found the best_

 _When there's no getting over that rainbow,_

 _When my smallest of dreams won't come true,_

 _I can take all the madness the world has to give,_

 _But I won't last a day without you._

 _When there's no getting over that rainbow,_

 _When my smallest of dreams won't come true,_

 _I can take all the madness the world has to give,_

 _But I won't last a day without you._

The room remained so silent you could hear a pen drop as the ending piano faded, and then it erupted into applause, cheers, whistles, and calls for an encore. Astrid knew, though, that even though the song had been sung where everybody could hear it, only one person was being sung to: Fishlegs. And Astrid couldn't think of a more beautiful way to tell someone how much you cared then through song. She turned her head to the newcomers soon enough when other Berkians began singing again. "Hello. My name is Astrid. It's nice to meet you." Eret flashed her a grin while Chicken vigorously shook her hand. "Lovely to meet you! I'm Chicken, and this is my brother Eret. Say hi, Eret!" Astrid thought Eret was about to say just that when Chicken sped right on through him. "So anyway, I think we could be good friends. Wanna hang out some time?"

Heather stepped in as she got back from the stage. "Give the girl some time to breathe, Chicken."

Astrid turned to her friend. "That was amazing! Like, recording artist amazing!"

Heather blushed. "Well, yeah, but it wasn't what I wanted to do with my life. I'm happy as I am."

Astrid noticed Tuff heading towards Dagur with a paper in his hand. "He's going to follow that?"

Fishlegs nodded. "Yeah. He does it so nobody else has to."

Tuffnut stepped up to the mike as an intro immediately familiar to Astrid started to play.

 _I eat filet mignon seven times a day_

 _My bathtub's filled with Perrier_

 _What can I say?_

 _This is the life!_

 _I buy a dozen cars when I'm in the mood_

 _I hire somebody to chew my food_

 _I'm an upwardly mobile dude_

 _This is the life!_

 _They say that money corrupts you_

 _But I can't really tell_

 _I got the whole world at my feet_

 _And I think it's pretty swell_

 _I got women lined up outside my door_

 _They've been waitin' there since the week before_

 _Who could ask for more?_

 _This is the life!_

 _You're dead for a real long time_

 _You just can't prevent it_

 _So if money can't buy happiness_

 _I guess I'll have to rent it_

 _Yeah, every day I make the front page news_

 _No time to pay my dues_

 _I got a million pairs of shoes_

 _This is the life!_

 _I got a solid gold Cadillac_

 _I make a fortune while I sleep_

 _You can tell I'm a living legend_

 _Not some ordinary creep_

 _No way, I'm the boss_

 _The Big Cheese_

 _Yeah, I got this town on its knobby little knees_

 _I can do just what I please_

 _This is the life!_

 _That's right, I'm the king_

 _Number One_

 _I buy monogrammed Kleenex by the ton_

 _I pay the bills_

 _I call the shots_

 _I grease the palms_

 _I buy the yachts_

 _One thing I can guarantee_

 _The best things in life, they sure ain't free_

 _It's such a thrill just to be me_

 _This is the life!_

 _This is the life!_

The room was in uproarious laughter as Tuffnut finished his song. Astrid was leaning on Heather to keep herself upright. In all the commotion, she didn't notice Ruffnut slip up to the mike until a guitar intro started up. She looked up as Ruff started her song.

 _So she can't go out tonight again:_

 _Her sister's sick, she's gotta baby-sit._

 _Yeah, that sounds like a pretty good excuse._

 _Now you didn't hear any of this from me,_

 _But things aren't always what they seem._

 _Brace yourself, this may come as a shock to you._

 _Girls lie too,_

 _An' we don't care how much money you make,_

 _Or what you drive or what you weigh,_

 _Size don't matter anyway._

 _Girls lie too,_

 _Don't think you're the only ones,_

 _Who bend it, break it, stretch it some._

 _We learn from you,_

 _Girls lie too._

 _We can't wait to hear about your round of golf._

 _We love to see deer heads hanging on the wall,_

 _An' we like Hooter's for their hot wings too._

 _Other guys never cross our minds._

 _We don't wonder what it might be like._

 _How could it be any better than it is with you?_

 _Girls lie too,_

 _An' we don't care how much money you make,_

 _Or what you drive or what you weigh,_

 _Size don't matter anyway._

 _Girls lie too,_

 _Don't think you're the only ones,_

 _Who bend it, break it, stretch it some._

 _We learn from you,_

 _Girls lie too._

 _Yeah, girls lie too,_

 _We always forgive and forget._

 _The cards and flowers you never sent,_

 _Will never be brought up again._

 _Girls lie too._

 _Old gray sweatpants turn us on._

 _We like your friends and we love your mom._

 _And that's the truth,_

 _Girls lie too._

 _Yeah that's the truth,_

 _Girls lie too._

The raucous cheering continued, and several more performers started stepping up, some even in pairs or groups. Astrid mostly ignored this to speak with her friends. The group continued to chat for hours, before calls for Hiccup started. He stood up, motioned for the crowd to quiet down, and beckoned for Fishlegs. The big blond smiled, and the two got up as the room, for the first time since Heather's performance, quieted down.

 _Hello darkness, my old friend,  
I've come to talk with you again,  
Because a vision softly creeping,  
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,  
And the vision that was planted in my brain  
Still remains  
Within the sound of silence_

 _In restless dreams I walked alone,  
Narrow streets of cobblestone,  
'Neath the halo of a street lamp,  
I turned my collar to the cold and damp,  
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light  
That split the night  
And touched the sound of silence_

 _And in the naked light I saw,  
Ten thousand people, maybe more,  
People talking without speaking,  
People hearing without listening,  
People writing songs that voices never share  
No one dared  
Disturb the sound of silence_

 _"Fools" said I, "You do not know,  
Silence like a cancer grows,  
Hear my words that I might teach you,  
Take my arms that I might reach you,"  
But my words like silent raindrops fell  
And echoed in the wells of silence_

 _And the people bowed and prayed,  
To the neon god they made,  
And the sign flashed out its warning,  
In the words that it was forming,_

 _And the sign said, "The words of the prophets  
Are written on the subway walls  
And tenement halls"  
And whispered in the sounds of silence_

The hall was silent for some time again before breaking into a fresh set of cheers. Astrid was absolutely awed at the performance the two men had put on. Finally, after the cheering died down, Mala took the mike. "Well, it was great to have everybody here, but I think its time for the last song of the night. Hiccup and the boys are going to be singing the last song, and its Last Call for Alcohol. Stay safe, everyone!"

Astrid watched as Hiccup and Fishlegs were joined by Eret and Snotlout. A guitar riff started to play, and Snotlout stepped to the mike first.

 _I was a highwayman  
Along the coach roads I did ride  
With sword and pistol by my side  
Many a young maid lost her baubles to my trade  
Many a soldier shed his lifeblood on my blade  
The bastards hung me in the spring of twenty-five  
But I am still alive_

Next to the mike was Fishlegs, in a slightly deeper pitch.

 _I was a sailor  
I was born upon the tide  
And with the sea I did abide  
I sailed a schooner round the Horn to Mexico  
I went aloft and furled the mainsail in a blow  
And when the yards broke off they said that I got killed  
But I am living still_

Eret took the mike next, singing even lower, and several of the girls in the audience swooned as he started. They all got dirty looks from Ruffnut.

 _I was a dam builder  
Across the river deep and wide  
Where steel and water did collide  
A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado  
I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below  
They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound  
But I am still around_

The other three stepped up to the mikes and joined in.

 _I'll always be around and around and around and around and around_

Hiccup stood up to the mike last, singing the lowest of the bunch. His voice filled the hall, and Astrid had to steady herself on the table as she felt her legs weakening a little.

 _I fly a starship  
Across the Universe divide  
And when I reach the other side  
I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can  
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again  
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain  
But I will remain_

The boys all joined together for the last little bit of the song.

 _And I'll be back again, and again and again and again and again_

Soon enough, the bar started emptying out, and Astrid joined Heather and Fishlegs on the way out. "That was a lot of fun, guys. I think I'll be back for it next week."

Heather smiled at her. "Glad you enjoyed it. We'll see you on Monday!"

 **I promised you guys early 2019, but I intended on January. Sorry for the delay. I'm also not sure how good this chapter is, part of why it took so long is I'm not super happy with it, but I'm not sure why. Reviews would be much appreciated on this particular chapter. Anyhow, I'm releasing a one-shot called Bus Stop and the start of another multi-chapter fic called Taken, both for HTTYD, today. After those, I'm going to alternate chapter releases between this and Taken, so the first chapter of a stroy to go up after today will be for this, than the next release will be for Taken, and so on. Please give those a read too if you have the time.**

 **All the best,**

 **The Author**


End file.
